Mommalyst
PO Box 98064 RPO QUEEN CARLAW M6H 3Z1 Toronto, ON, Canada

This was an awesome app that we used to find free drop-in baby activities in the west end of Toronto. . . .... . . #imissmaternityleave #busyschedule #torontomoms #westendtoronto #babyactivities #whattodowithbaby See more

Another program we liked was Music Together with Amici Music School @amicimusickids . You can search online to see who offers Music Together classes in your area. Audrey started this class when she was 8 months old. I wish we had of started when she was even younger because at 8 months she was starting to crawl, so it was hard for her to sit with the group. I loved the CD that came with the registration - it has an incredibly soothing effect on Audrey. So when we’re on lo...ng car rides or when she starts to get fussy we put this on and it ALWAYS works to calm her down. IMO the power of the CD alone is worth the price of the class! I liked the structure of the class and the materials/instruments that each of the babies got were fun and very engaging. Singing songs, playing instruments and dancing with your baby can help your baby form a secure attachment with you, can enhance your baby’s development of communication skills, and is fun! In the music together class, you have to sing aloud with other parents/caregivers in the group. Singing in front of people is a major fear of mine and was really hard for me to do...but I did it! So just a warning in case this is something that is hard for you as well. What was your baby’s favourite song that you sang to them? #singingbaby #musictogether #babyprogram #musicdevelopment #cd #babyactivity #calmingmusic

Baby programs... there are so many of them to choose from! This week I’m going to be sharing some of our favourites. Swimming lessons for me will be a non-negotiable every year for Audrey because learning to swim in addition to water safety rules are key to drowning prevention. Even though at this age, adult supervision is going to be the most important drowning prevention strategy, I believe if children are comfortable in the water from an early age, swimming lessons wil...l be more successful later on (less tears and fear of the water). We have done two types of swimming lessons, Water Babies ($$$) and the Red Cross swimming lessons ($). For kids under 3 my preference is definitely Water Babies. As an ex-swimming instructor I was really skeptical that Water Babies would be that much different than regular lessons at the local community centre. But it was! From an ABA perspective, Water Babies uses behavioural skills training to teach the skills to parents. They tell you what you’re going to do and why, they show you what to do with either your child or someone else’s in the group, they watch you and provide you with immediate feedback as to whether or not you’re doing the skill properly with your child. They also teach kids to learn to follow specific verbal instructions (in ABA terms they use SDs to elicit a specific swim behaviour). For example, Audrey learned Audrey ready go meant she needed to hold her breath because it cues her that she was going under water. I liked this more than the traditional blow in the face and dunk. It also helped Audrey to be a superstar in the Mikvah when she completed her conversion! It’s possible that you could luck out and get an amazing Red Cross instructor who does all of this... but I haven’t experienced this yet . . What were some of your favourite baby programs? See more

More Oh Henry Mommy #happyhalloween #firstchocolatebar

Baby signers may have difficulties moving their hands to form the exact signs in the beginning, especially when complex fine motor skills (i.e., moving their fingers in a specific way) are involved. So a sign like water can look like the sign for eat or like a baby discovering how to make fun sounds with their hand and mouth in Audrey’s case. . . I chose which signs to teach Audrey based on her motivation, the complexity of the sign (I chose ones that are easy), and... the similarity to other signs in her repertoire (I chose signs that are not very similar to other signs in her wheelhouse). . . I also teach her babysitter and family members what her sign approximations mean... like her sign for water (which typically would make an adult imitate this action back to her because it looks pretty playful). This minimizes the chances of people not responding to her communication attempts. . . #mommalystmustdo #babysignlanguage #water #communication #teachmelanguage #allthewaystoaba #bcbamom #mom See more